ST. ANDREWS, N.B. — Two conservation groups say they want a full environmental impact study carried out for a proposed salmon farming operation in Newfoundland's Placentia Bay.

The New Brunswick-based Atlantic Salmon Federation and the Salmonid Council of Newfoundland and Labrador say the farm proposed by Grieg NL Seafarms poses a threat to wild Atlantic salmon.

Council president Don Hutchens says the proposed use of sea cages could lead to the escape of fish who would pose a disease threat to wild populations through breeding.

Both groups say wild salmon populations along Newfoundland's south coast have been designated as threatened by the Committee on the Status of Wildlife in Canada and are being assessed for listing under the Species at Risk Act.

They say the company has not provided sufficient information on the methods it will use to control disease and parasites and to prevent the escape of farmed fish.

Newfoundland's minister of environment and conservation is accepting public comments on the proposal until March 26.